Passion Power

The greatest charity of all is to give someone a job and there’s a million of them out there. According to Statistics Canada there are 997,000 vacant positions in the second quarter of this year, the highest quarterly number on record. The working class aren’t working but why? The working class perform essential work. They work in restaurants, cook, serve our food, clean, work as cashiers, take care of the sick and the elderly. We devalue the working class yet who will build your house or fix your steps or mow your lawn or deliver your food or look after you when you’re old? Every trade is desperate to hire workers, but nobody seems to want the job. Parents understand that getting into the trades is the way to go but good luck convincing our kids of that. They look down on their hard-working parents. They want the highest pay possible for the least amount of work. Kids listen to social media influencers and are looking for get rich quick schemes. Who hasn’t fallen for that at...

The labour movement has ignited and for the first time in a long time the balance of power has shifted. It’s the great reset and one that I support. Years ago, companies and workers were cooperative alliances. The almighty dollar wasn’t the most important thing. Now it’s dog-eat-dog and every man for himself.  Most working-class people are just trying to put food on the table for their families and sock some away for the future.  Can I do better is not a bad question to ask and in a tight labour market now is the time.   There is burn-out among healthcare and frontline workers, essential workers, and food services and retail.    The pandemic has created a whole host of issues; supply chain disruptions, backs logs and labour shortages to name a few.    Corporations are demanding extra time and effort, something people aren’t necessarily heartened to give. Companies need to sweeten the pie if they wish to keep their employees. The game is stille...